Improvement in electro-magnetic burglar-alarms for safes



U. S. SHIVLER. Eleotro-Magnetic Burglar-Alarm for Safes.-

' No. 197,416. Patented Nov. 20,1877.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEE o CHARLES S. SHIVLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO GEORGE W. TOMPKINS, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC BURGLAR-ALARMS FOR SAFES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,416, dated November20, 1877; application filed To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. SHrvLEE, of the city and State of NewYork, have invented certain Improvements in Electro-MagneticSafe-Protectors and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. I

. The invention is applicable not only to safes, so called, but tovaults, strong rooms, 850., in which valuable goods, papers, or moneysare placed for safe-keeping. The invention will, however, besufficiently illustrated by a description of it as applied to anordinary safe.

Figure 1 in the drawing is a perspectiveview of a safe to which theinvention is applied. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same made onthe line .00 w in Fig. 1. Fig. 3is adiagram, which will be used inexplanation of the operation of the apparatus. FigAis a sideview of analarm connected with and forming part of the apparatus, with the partsin such position that the alarm is silent. Fig. 5 is a side view of thesame, with the parts in position to render the said alarm operative.Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are details illustrating special features of theapparatus.

A, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, represents the safe, and B the door of the same.0, Figs. 1 and2, represents a case for the safe, which may beconveniently made of wood, but which may, ifpreferred, be made of othermaterial. Said case is, moreover, made largeenough to leave a space, a,between it and the safe on all the sides which it incloses.

The door B is hollow, and itmaybe common to both the said safe and thesaid case, or the safe may have an additional special door provided, ifdesired. The space within the hollow door is shown at a in Fig. 2.

Within the spaces a and a are pivoted ase-; lies of overlapping,inclined, insulated, or insulatin g plates, 1), which are, preferably,wholly made of insulating material, such as wood, hard rubber, 850., theuse of insulating material for said plates obviating the necessity forspecial insulators to render the said plates themselves insulatorsotherwise required. Said September 14,1877.

plates are pivoted at their inner borders, and by means of insulatedsprings c are normally maintained in their inclined position across thespace a or a in such manner that the outer end of each spring restsagainst an insulated metallic plate, p, attached to the case.

The overlapping of theplates b prevents the introduction of any'drill orother instrument of attack through the case 0 without contact 7 withsome one of said plates and pressing such plate away from the case. Saidplates, therefore, constitute a'series of yielding overlappinginsulators.

Each of the springs 0 may be a part of a main circuit from a battery, D,Figs. 3 and 4, the course of whichis fromsaidbattery through a wire, d,to and through the coil of an electro-magnet, E, situated at anydistance from the safe, thence through a wire, d, to and through thecase "0, and to either one of the springs c or one of the plates p.Aportion of the said'springs and plates within the case 0 is soconnected by short connecting-wires d as to form a continuation of thecircuit to one of the conductors e, which carries on the circuit intothe plates, springs, and connecting-wires within the hollow door whensaid door is shut; thence the circuit passes through the conductors 6back again into and through another portion of the springs c and plates19 in the case 0 and to the wire 01', which leads back to the battery D,completing the circuit. The direction of the said main circuit may bereversed without in any wise affecting the action of the several devicesdescribed.

The arrangement of the springs 0, plates 1), and wires d, for securingcontinuity of the circuit, may be much varied, and it is not necessarythat springs should form part of said circuit. A special conductor maybe carried by each plate, leaving the springs to perform solely thefunction of springs. Any mode of forming the said circuit so that thepressing away of any of said yielding insulators from theconducting-plate 1) (against which said plate normally rests) will breakthe circuit may be employed. 1 therefore donot confine myself to anyparticular number of yielding insulators b, conducting plates p, springsc,

the spring It will draw the armature F and the lever G away from themagnet E. This movement sets into operation the alarm hereinafterdescribed. 7

The alarm may consist of a hell, I, or other instrument for making'asound or noise, operated by an electro-magnet, E, Fig. 4, said magnetbeing magnetized by a local circuit from a battery D, whenever saidcircuit is closed. Said aiarm constitutes no part of my invention, butthe mechanism for setting it into operation and controlling itsoperation are special-features of my improvement, which will besufficiently illustrated by a description of the same as applied to theoperation of a bell-alarm sounded by a hammer, 70, attached to avibrating armature, I, Fig. 4.

The local circuit is as follows: Said circuit is closed, as shown inFig. 5, when the main circuit is broken and the armature F is released,the closing of said circuit being effected by the contact of the lever,G with a jointed lever, H, hereinafter described, which forms part ofsaid circuit.

The full circuit is shown in Fig. 4, first from the battery B, throughthe wire m, to and through the coil of the electro-magnet E, thencethrough the wire m to and through the lever G, thence through thejointed lever H and its metallic bearing to and through the wire m,connected with said lever H, back to the battery.

The lever H has its fulcrum at n, in a frame or case,.G, which alsosupportsa train of clock-work, 0. By suitable intermediate gearing acam-wheel, 1, (shown in detail in Figs. 6, 7, and 8,) attached to saidclock-work train, is caused to revolve twice in twenty-four hours. Inthe perimeter of said cam wheel are formed two intersecting cam-grooves,p, in

V which slides a plate, 1', connected with a pivot,

s, in the end of the jointed lever H. In one of the grooves 12 a part,t, is made deeper than the other part of the same, as shown in Fig. 8.Said deeper part is of a length corresponding to that part of theclock-dial which marks the time of day during which the alarm-signal isnot desired to sound--as, for instance, during the business-hours, fromnine to four oclock; and when the said deeper part of the said groovepasses under the sliding pivoted plate r said plate sinks by its ownweight, (or may he assisted by a spring to sink to the bottom of saiddeeper part,) and raises the opposite end of the lever H into a positionwhere it cannot touch the end of the armaturelever Gr. Therefore, whilesaid deeper part of said groove is passing under said pivoted plate r,the local circuit of the alarm will not be closed, no matter how oftenthe main circuit is broken by the opening of the safe-door in thetransaction of business.

But I do not confine myself to a doublegrooved cam-wheel revolving twicein twentyfour hours. I may use a cam-wheel revolved by suitable gearingonce in twenty-four hours, in which case the plate 1' on the end of thesaid lever need not be pivoted to said lever;

V or in such case the'arin ofthelever nearest the cam-wheel might bemade heavier than the other arm, and provided with a pin or projectionplaying in the groove of the cam-wheel or an un grooved eccentriccam-wheel might be made to act directly against the lever.

The use and operation of the apparatus, so far as now described, are asfollows:

The safe may be placed in a counting-room, bank, or other place ofbusiness, and the wires of the main circuit to and from the battery I)secretly led through the case (J, and connected with the series ofsprings and plates within the case, as hereinbefore described. Said'main circuit will then be closed whenever the door B of the safe isshut.

The local-alarm circuit or circuits and alarm or alarms may be placed atany distance away from the safe to be protected-say, in the residence orresidences of bank officials or partners in business, in apolice-station, or other situation where an alarm will be given to thosedesired to protect said safe in case the same is tampered with; andduring the hours in which such alarm or alarms are permitted to operateby the controlling clock-work train,

' if any attempts be made to pierce said safe by any instrument, one orother of the yielding insulators b will be displaced, and the maincircuit will be broken. Also, if the door of the safeshould be opened,the conductors e e and e ewould be separated, and break the maincircuit.

The breaking of said main circuit demagnetizes the electro-magnet E,which then releases its armature F. The spring h then pulls the saidarmature and its attached lever G away from the said electro-magnet, andbrings said lever into contact with the lever H, closing the local-alarmcircuit, and setting the alarm into operation. v

To keep the local-alarm circuit closed and keep the alarm sounding, evenif the main circuit should again be closed after opening, I form on thatend of the lever H which comes in contact with the armature-lever G acatch, '0, and also form on the end of said lever H an inclined plane,w. When, in the release of the arm ature F, the end of the lever G meetsthe end of the lever H, theinclined plane 9 on the end of the lever Gslides over the inclined plane w, and the catch 11 engages the end ofthe said closed.

armature-lever, and holds the local circuit The alarm then continues tosound until some one who has charge of it opens said local circuitagain.

The said opening of said local circuit is accomplished from the outsideof the case 0 by means of a circuit-breaker, It, which may convenientlybe a rock-bar having on it a liftingarm, 1", and a spring, w", forrestoring it to its position when turned, and a winch, W, for actuatingit; but any other means of lifting the lever H to break the localcircuit may be employed. When the said circuit-breaker is turned so asto bring the lifting-arm r under the lever H, the latter is raised andthe local circuit is broken.

To test the said local-alarm circuit, it is only necessary to press awaythe armature-lever G from the magnet E and bring it into contact withthe lever H. This is conveniently done by means of a circuit-closer, R,having attached thereto the rock-lever r and a spring, I

breaking the main circuit, and it may at once be determined whether thealarm sounds properly or not.

During holidays, or other days when the place in which the safe is keptremains closed, it is necessary to release the local alarm .fiom thecontrol of the clock-work train. To effect this I employ a releasingdevice, R, which holds up the end of the lever H nearest the cam-wheelP, and prevents said lever from being acted upon by said cam-wheel.

Said releasing device may conveniently be a rock-bar, having attachedthereto a liftingarm, 0', and a winch, W, for turning the same. Whensaid releasing device is turned so as to bring the lifting-arm 1' underthe lever H, the end of the said lever .imder which said arm presses israised and held raised until the said rock-bar is turned back again, andin this position the local circuit will be closed and the alarm soundedat any hour of the day vin which the main circuit may be broken.

the moment the main circuit was again closed.

As it is desirable that the alarm should, under all circumstances,continue to sound after the closing of the main circuit, until stoppedby some one interested in the protection of of the safe, I provide forthe certain engagement of the armature-lever G with the lever H, whenthe latter is set for holidays, by a pivoted joint, .9, in said lever,so constructed that the part of said lever between the said joint andthe catch 0; maymove upward against the pressure of a spring, 25,without moving the entire lever.

I claim 1. The combination of the yielding overlapping non-conductors orinsulators b, the springs controlling said insulators, and a series ofconductors rendering the electric circuit continuous through theinterior of the protecting-case when the door of the same is closed,substantially as and for the purpose described. 1

2. The combination of the armature-lever G and the locking-lever H, bothforming a part of an alarm-circuit, and the Wires of the opposite polesof the battery of said circuit, one wire of which is connected with thesaid armature-lever and the other with the said locking-lever,substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with the locking-lever H, for locking thearmature-lever G, of clockwork and a cam-wheel driven by said clockwork,for preventing the closing of the alarmcircuit during prescribed periodsof time, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with the locking-lever H and the armature-lever G,each forming part of an alarm-circuit, of a circuit closer, It, fortesting said circuit, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the locking-lever H and armature-lever G, bothforming a part of an alarm circuit, of a circuit breaker, R, for openingsaid circuit, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with the locking-lever H, forming part of analarm-circuit, and-clockwork for actuating the same, of a releasingdevice, It, for releasing the said lever from the action of theclockwork, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. The joint 8 in the locking-lever H, for enabling said lever to lockthe armature-lever G, when the said lever H is engaged by the releasingdevice R, substantially as described.

CHARLES S. SHIVLER.

Witnesses:

BENJAMN W. HOFFMAN, FRED. HAYNES-

